Damascus steel... Genuine or Fake?

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BlakeK

Joined
Jun 13, 2014
Messages
31
Hi guys,

I found these blades for sale online. The maker describes them as genuine Damascus blades, Modern pattern welded steel layers of hard high carbon steels are welded to layers of soft low carbon steels, the blade is forged, ground, and etched to reveal a striking pattern. Hardened and Tempered to HRC57.

I wouldn't know the difference... What do you guys think?

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It's generally a bad sign if they can't tell you exactly which steels they used to make the pattern welded steel. If the seller can't tell me what steels were used, that kills the sale for me instantly. Don't play the mystery steel game.
 
Ditto on that, if they don't tell you something more specific like "L6 and 1050 with Nickel added" I would avoid it. Price point is also a big tip off, if the price is to good to be true then stay away.
 
it's about the price. if you think it's too good to be true, you're probably right. I have no experience with Pakistan stuff other than a buck copy which used cheap wood and pins. The metal itself was soft and didn't really hold an edge. Great for digging around in dirt and giving to village boys for momentos.
 
Maybe that hook is for cord cutting? :D (yeah, I know). Although the provenance of these is in doubt, and probably with good reason, they're artistically very nice. Looks to me like a little extra time was taken, with engraving, decently done wire wraps and such, and if purchased cheaply enough as a "Sword-like object", they'd be quite nice to have on display. I'm especially fond of 1,2, & 4. I really like 4, that wasp waist is nice. That being said, should you actually cut anything with these or even swing them around? I wouldn't. Probably welded-on rat-tail tangs.
 
Guys, as usual i thank you for your input. I've done quite a bit of research into "Damascus/mixed steel" blades since i posted this thread, and all the genuine blades i've found tend to be quite a bit more understated than these blades in terms of the pattern jumping out at you. I gave these a miss as i always want my blades to be able to function as what they were designed for... Cutting!... Even if i only intend to display the sword, it still has to be capable of fulfilling its purpose if needs be.

I do however agree with Kaotikross that some of them are rather attractive designs. Swords 2 and 4 are versions of Lord of the Rings swords, and i do also like the Gladius.
 
These swords are remakes of movie swords. The top one is generic Norse, next is Sting, then Nuada sword from Hellboy 2 (more esoteric), and finally Glamdring. It is hard to tell from just a few pictures, but the finishing looks much better than the usual wallhanger junk. The use of brass and what appears to be kamagong wood for the handle of the Hellboy sword (swirl pattern looks similar, again hard to tell) remind me quite a lot of stuff from the Philippines. Some guys over there do really good work, but others just make decorator pieces--without having to worry about licensing fees, too. If you can't find any info about the maker or seller website on these forums, try myarmory.com too. Bottom line is that these swords were made to look good, and if they are also usable swords they will be priced accordingly. And kaotic is serious about not even swinging them around, too, if they are decorations. I bought an antique dha that I just had to swing one time for fun and launched the blade out of the hilt and into a bamboo stalk downrange--very embarrassing but no casualties.
 
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